There are known in the prior art ice makers of the type in which an auger blade scrapes ice particles off a cylindrical surface and forces the particles into an extruding head. As the particles are compressed in the head, they form rods of hard ice. Means are provided for breaking the rods into pieces which are stored in a reservoir and dispensed on demand.
One type of ice maker of the type described hereinabove is shown in FIGS. 9-11 of patent No. 4,741,173. In the ice maker shown therein, the auger shaft extends upwardly through a bore in the extruding head and an extension thereof above the head receives a thrust bearing, a cap and a nut. The thrust bearing is formed over a relatively thick body of a suitable material such as polypropylene.
In the arrangement just described, the relatively thick disk which forms the thrust bearing under certain conditions retains heat created by friction and wears relatively quickly or cold flows. The life of the bearing is relatively short so that it must be replaced at relatively frequent intervals.